Monthly Archives: November 2009

Who’s going to win the Civil War? “Whoever has a chance to go to the Rose Bowl I want to lose,” Roy said. He then was told that whomever wins is going to the Rose Bowl. “Really? For real? Then probably the Beavers, because the Ducks hate the Huskies more.” Roy felt that hatred during […]

While the Bulls’ lineup was introduced prior to Monday’s game, the song “The Night Chicago Died” quietly played over the PA system. It was barely audible, and I’m sure 90 percent of the audience isn’t familiar with the 1974 song from one-hit wonder Paper Lace. But I thought it was pretty clever.

— As you know, the Civil War will decide the Pac-10′s Rose Bowl representative. It’s a War for the Roses, and there will be nothing civil about it. For anybody who grew up in this part of the country, this is a rather stunning turn of events. Oregon once went 25 years (1964-88) without a […]

While the Bulls’ lineup was introduced prior to Monday’s game, the song “The Night Chicago Died” quietly played over the PA system. It was barely audible, and I’m sure 90 percent of the audience isn’t familiar with the 1974 song from one-hit wonder Paper Lace. But I thought it was pretty clever.

In 2007, Noah’s Florida Gators beat Oden’s Ohio State Buckeyes in the NCAA championship game. But Oden had 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Noah was in foul trouble much of the night. Florida elected to single-cover Oden with Noah or Al Horford, while keeping a close watch on the Buckeyes’ outside shooters. Not a […]

For the season, Portland is allowing 87.5 points a game, which leads the league. Again, impressive. But a better measure of defense is provided by basketball-reference.com, which estimates how many possessions each team has in the course of a game. Portland’s “pace factor” ranks 28th among the 30 teams. That means the Blazers prefer a […]

For the season, Portland is allowing 87.5 points a game, which leads the league. Again, impressive. But a better measure of defense is provided by basketball-reference.com, which estimates how many possessions each team has in the course of a game. Portland’s “pace factor” ranks 28th among the 30 teams. That means the Blazers prefer a […]

Yes, Carroll has a lot of advantages coaching at USC. He has a ton of local talent to recruit from, and the program has a lot of history. But you can’t dismiss seven straight Pac-10 titles, and there are two facts to put that achievement into perspective: In the 11 years before Carroll arrived, under […]

A conversion on 4th-and-2 would be successful 60 percent of the time. Historically, in a situation with 2:00 left and needing a TD to either win or tie, teams get the TD 53 percent of the time from that field position. Add it up and, according to the article, the Patriots had a 79 percent […]

Heard this one on the radio this morning, so I thought it would be a reasonable time to bring it up again here. If only because some people seem to accept it as an unquestionable truth: Big men win championships in the NBA. The problem is that the facts don’t back this up. Consider: . […]